The 17th Veterans World Fencing Championships will be organized by the Bulgarian Fencing Federation and Sports club Odesos 2008 with the support of the city of Varna, under the auspices and authority of the Fédération Internationale d’Escrime (FIE). Competitors have included Olympic and Senior World Champion gold medalists.

Fencing is a lifelong sport, and the Veteran World Championships reflect fencing’s ability to engage athletes of all ages. In 2013, the FIE celebrates its 100th birthday with the theme of “100 years of excellence and innovation.

Here is the complete program of the competition:

Final Program

Monday,30.09.13

12:00 – 20:00 h Equipment control and accreditation
16:30 h Meeting of DT
17:30 h Briefing of delegations
10:00-18:00 h Training as per announcement

Tuesday, 1.10.13

8:00 13:00 h Equipment control and accreditation
8:00-8:30 h Meeting of referees
14:00 19:00 h Equipment control
9:00 h Men’s epee (60-69)
9:00 h Men’s foil (70+)
11:30 h Ladies foil (70+)
13:00 h Ladies sabre (50-59)
18:00 h Opening ceremony
18:30 h Finals

Wednesday, 2.10.13

8:00 13:00 h Equipment control and accreditation
14:00 19:00 h Equipment control
9:00 h Men’s foil (50-59)
10:00 h Ladies epee (50-59)
13:00 h Men’s sabre (60-69)
18:00 h Finals

Thursday, 3.10.13

8:00 13:00 h Equipment control and accreditation
14:00 19:00 h Equipment control
9:00 h Men’s epee (70+)
10:00 h Men’s foil (60-69)
12:00 h Ladies epee (60-69)
13:00 h Ladies sabre (70+)
18:00 h Finals

Friday, 4.10.13

8:00 13:00 h Equipment control and accreditation
14:00 19:00 h Equipment control
9:00 h Men’s epee (50-59)
10:00 h Ladies foil (50-59)
13:00 h Ladies sabre (60-69)
18:00 h Finals

Saturday, 5.10.13

8:00 13:00 h Equipment control and accreditation
14:00 19:00 h Equipment control
9:00 h Ladies foil (60-69)
11:30 h Ladies epee (70+)
11:30 h Men’s sabre (50-59)
13:00 h Men’s sabre (70+)
18:00 h Finals
20:00 h Gala Dinner

Sunday, 6.10.13

8:00 – 10:00 h Equipment control
Times to be decided by the DT in Varna Team men’s epee
Team ladies epee
Team men’s foil
Team ladies foil
Team men’s sabre
Team ladies sabre
Times to be decided by the DT in Varna. Finals
16:30 h Closing ceremony

Home boy wins title

Zografov took on Algirdas Saveikis in the final heads-up of the match that was played in the Golden Sands Resort in Varna and strangely enough due to the deal they had struck Saveikis came home with €51,645, slightly more than the champ.

The final heads-up was like a mini marathon and produced nigh on three hours of very intense play. With Saveikis having a massive chip lead advantage going into the game most people thought that it was a done thing but with the lead swinging back and forth like a monkey on a rope, it was Zografov who fought back to take the title and the crown.

More for less

Although he may have won less money than his rival we are sure he won’t let that bother him as the title is the important thing, with the money being a close second. In fact, in an interview after the game Zografov said: “To win the trophy in my home country is the perfect situation, I feel great.”  Good on you Petar!!

Let us take a look at the final table and their winnings:

1. Petar Zografov (Bulgaria)                  €48,745

2. Algirdas Saveikis (Lithuania)          €51,645

3. Ted Stolzenbach (Netherlands)       €22,050

4. Slaven Popov (Bulgaria)                     €17,300

5. Michal Misterek (Poland)                  €14,300

6. Daniel Karlson (Sweden)                   €11,900

7. Deyan Stanev (Bulgaria)                     €9,550

8. Nagy Barnabas (Hungary)                 €7,600

The main organisers were volunteers from the Peace Corps and Varna municipality along with the visiting football team of Sofia Bears. The first day’s training saw a turnout of 80 enthusiastic players eager to learn the game.

Later that day, the Sofia Bears played against the Romanian team Bucharest Warriors who also took part in the two-day tournament. The sides played according to US regulations with eight players on each team in full protective gear.

The Bears demonstrated their skills and won 42:6. This was the first time a crowd from Varna had seen an official American football game live. On the second day all the participants were divided into four teams to play American flag football.

Sofia Bears expressed hopes that this will excite more interest in other Bulgarian cities, hence they have planned similar events for the rest of the summer.

The three-day International tournament held in the memory of Bulgarian Petko Sirakov and Ivan Iliev.

Cherno More fans were so disgusted by their team’s performance against Black Sea rivals Kaliakra that they set up a road blockade on the 64-km trip back to Varna.

“We wanted to hear their explanation for their pitiful performance,” a Cherno More fan told local media. “Well, we’re ready to show them some alternative methods of communication too.”

The club bus, escorted by police, faced some 200 angry supporters chanting for change when it reached Cherno More’s stadium.

Frustrated fans insulted the players as they entered the stadium to meet the owners while Cherno More ultras attacked the bus with stones and bottles, smashing the windscreen.

“After another embarrassing defeat this season, the management of Cherno More decided to part company with Yodan Yurukov, Nikolay Domakinov and Milen Petkov,” the club said in a statement following the crisis meeting.

“From now on we’ll rely on players who give their best on the field and care about the green and white jersey.”

Midfielders Yurukov and Petkov and defender Domakinov are former internationals and were among the most experienced players in the team.

Cherno More, Bulgarian Cup finalists twice in the last five years, are ninth in the standings, 13 points behind leaders Litex Lovech.

Popov left following a 4-0 defeat by Montana which left the ambitious Varna-based club ninth in the standings with 15 points from 11 matches, 10 points behind leaders Levski Sofia.

Popov, who replaced Nikola Spasov soon after the start of last season, had offered to quit on two occasions in the last few months.